TWO
Jasper leaned back on the hood of his truck and dusted his paint splattered boots with a rolled up newspaper. Minute specks of saw dust immediately clouded his superhuman vision, but Jasper did not complain.
Ever since the vampire fortune teller, Alice, convinced Jasper to join the Cullen Coven, Jasper had been feigning humanity. At times he hated moving at a human pace, and sometimes he forgot to breathe or blink, but he knew it was something Rebecca would approve of, so he kept going.
The thought of Rebecca kept Jasper from doing many things in his everlasting lifetime. Though certain aspects of her body had faded from his memory, he remembered her personality as clearly as he remembered his own name. Her memory kept Jasper from walking into his own pyre time and time again.
Now, Jasper looked around himself at the construction site where he worked. A few of his co-workers gathered nearby, chatting loudly about obscene topics and inhaling their bagged lunches. In the distance, men were hard at work sawing wood and drilling nails while other men stomped around on scaffoldings. Even further away, a team of men guided a crane while the architect, clad in a business suit and white hardhat chatted enthusiastically with the construction manager.
Momentarily, Jasper forgot what he was doing there and considered draining all of these men of their blood, but Jasper remembered Rebecca's smile and decided instead to read the newspaper he clutched in his fist.
There on the front page was the headliner that read, "Munch's Arrival Brings Controversy to Washington". The enlarged photograph beneath showed a rally of protestors holding up signs and shouting outside of a local art gallery. The continued article read:
"The pending arrival of Edvard Munch's artwork has brought upheaval to the sleepy town of Forks, Washington. Though the gallery where the piece will be displayed is located in Port Angeles, parents exclaim that their children frequent Port Angeles. One angered mother argued, 'The arcade is here, the shops are here, the library is here, the movie theatre is here! My children spend most of their time here after school! How can you place such a painting in a place children visit?' She is not the only parent outraged by the coming painting. Another mother declared, 'Sure, there is no nudity in this particular painting, but it alludes to indecency. The rest is sure to follow and it will spread if we as parents don't protect our children from it.' As for now, the owner, though less than pleased by the town's reaction, is honored to have the replica displayed in his museum. He understands the parents point of view, but admonishes that 'Change must come. The people will protest, and then they'll stop protesting. 'The Day After' is coming and I as well as my staff will welcome her with open arms.' The painting is said to be revealed this evening at the Travels Art Gallery in Port Angeles. You can expect to see a mob of protestors upon your arrival."
Jasper stared at the page for a little while longer, contemplating the human dilemma. He had never been a patron of the arts, but he reveled in the complexity of human emotions. He couldn't help himself from being intrigued by the controversy. Jasper briefly wondered who was right in this instance, was it the hovering parents, or the modern art collector? And with that, Jasper made up his mind. Alice, of course knowing of his plans, dropped off a change of clothes and sent him on his way to Travels Art Gallery.
Jasper had barely made it into Port Angeles when traffic picked up. Every vehicle was in sight – news vans, sports cars, motorcycles, minivans, and junk cars alike. Everyone was there to be a part of the controversy, whether that meant supporting the piece, protesting against it, reporting the news, or just trying to get their face on it – everyone wanted to be included.
So Jasper parked his truck a few blocks away and walked to the center of the chaos. Outside, protestors were mingling with each other, holding their picket signs at half mast and chatting irately about the painting to be revealed. Jasper pushed past them, ignoring accusations of promoting sin, and entered the gallery. All throughout, patrons and curious townsfolk alike ambled around the gallery aimlessly, all awaiting the revealing of Munch's piece.
Then finally the time came. Staff members ushered the scattered guests toward the center of the gallery where an excited buzz filled the room and rushed through Jasper. The faintest of smiles peaked along the edge of his lips as he allowed the feeling to wash over him; he hadn't been excited about something since the day of his wedding.
"Today is the day, Mother!"
The harsh memory instantly sobered Jasper as he fiercely returned to himself, ignoring the excitement in the room and waiting patiently for the black cloth to fall. Soon enough, the gallery owner called everyone to attention and silence fell upon the room. All that could be heard were the muffled chants of the protestors outside.
"Good evening, ladies and gentleman" the owner spoke with an enormous smile on his face as he addressed the guests and news reporters. "Today, we are two kinds of people. Those beyond those doors are the stubborn, narrow minded people who oppose change. We, however, stand here as people susceptible to change. We are here to welcome a brand new ounce of beauty to our town, and our presence here shows that we can be greater than a forgotten town in 'the other' Washington. I am honored to have this masterpiece presented in my own gallery. And without further ado, I give you…The Day After, by Edvard Munch."
With that, the curtain fell and the air in the room seemed to lighten. An almost simultaneous intake of breath filled the room. Jasper felt the burden of millions of emotions swirling about him, as if it was the piece he came to see instead of the one now on display. Some people nodded their appreciation and continued to browse the gallery while others stared unabashedly. There were those that immediately felt a twinge of pain – whether it was for themselves or the woman in the painting, Jasper did not know – while others outright cried.
Then suddenly, a powerful sense of longing found its way to Jasper through the throng of emotional guests. As Jasper turned his head in the direction it came, Jasper found the emotion reflected in himself as his eyes fell upon the woman across the room.
She stood at only 5 feet and 4 inches above the ground, with deep brown hair cascading down her back to her waist and matching expressive eyes. Her skin was inhumanly pale, yet her strong heartbeat admitted that she was, in fact, human. There was a ferocity about her that wasn't common amongst humans as she stood there, clad in a black button down shirt and black slacks, staring at the painting.
She longed for something in the painting, and Jasper longed for her, for once upon a time, she had been his wife.
A/n: I didn't get as many comments as I would have liked last time.
Let me know what you guys are thinking.
